WASHINGTON (AP) — Cayden Boozer tried to make one more pass that would seal the win for Duke.
It turned out to be a mistake that cost the Blue Devils their season.
Boozer's turnover in the final seconds led to Braylon Mullins' 3-pointer that gave UConn a 73-72 win over the top-seeded Blue Devils on Sunday. Duke had led by 19 points late in the first half, but it was another excruciating ending. Last year, the Blue Devils lost in the Final Four to Houston after leading by 14 in the second half and by six with 1:14 to play.
“It’s easy to look at that play. I look at every play that happened, especially in that second half. This is not about one play,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It’s about every play that put us in that position, and that’s what you don’t want to do, where one play something could happen.”
Duke went 35-3 this season and wasn't that far from being undefeated. The three losses came by a combined five points. The others were 82-81 to Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20, when the Blue Devils had led by 17 in the second half, and 71-68 at North Carolina on Feb. 7 on Seth Trimble's 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left.
The same amount of time left after Mullins' shot Sunday.
Duke was up two when Boozer, being pressured near midcourt, tried to pass to one of two teammates who were open deep. The ball was deflected, and Mullins retrieved it seconds before making the winning shot.
No. 1 seeds entered Sunday 134-0 when leading by at least 15 points at the half. That number is now 134-1 after Duke was up 44-29 at the break.
Scheyer, who is 124-25 in four seasons since replacing Mike Krzyzewski, has the unfortunate habit of making his losses more and more memorable as time goes by. The former Duke guard, who won the 2010 national championship as a player, was at a bit of a loss for words following this defeat.
“There’s not a person in this room, including me, that doesn’t replay everything that you could do and how you can help. I mean, obviously. That’s part of being in this seat. That’s part of being in this spot,” Scheyer said. “End of the day, we’ve got to finish it off. We’ll reflect. We’ll learn.”
Duke is now expected to lose star Cameron Boozer - Cayden's twin brother - to the NBA.
Cameron Boozer, whose right eye was swollen as he sat glumly at the postgame lectern, finished with a game-high 27 points.
“I’m hurting right now,” he said. “We’re all hurting.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
